Making Money Just By Breathing (Patreon)

Chapter 1: When People are Poor

The world is a whore, only showing its beauty to the rich.

—

July 2015, Gujiao City, Mining Province.

Under the scorching sun, the city was as stifling as a steamer.

Wang Yanguang, bare-armed, lay in a wicker chair in the shade of his own courtyard, feeling so hot that he stuck out his tongue.

His stomach still ached faintly; he had vomited twice yesterday, and the aftereffects persisted until now. Feeling a bit hungry but unable to eat anything, he was in discomfort.

His phone, placed beside him, suddenly rang, and Wang Yanguang weakly answered.

"Hello?"

"Bro Wang! He Meng's graduation celebration is scheduled for the 2nd. You'll definitely come, right?"

Wang Yonglei's excited voice came through the speaker, sounding as if he was about to burst with enthusiasm.

Wang Yanguang could understand Wang Yonglei's excitement.

He Meng was one of the most beautiful flowers among this year's graduating class at Experimental High School. Slim-waisted with long legs, fair-skinned and beautiful, she was the goddess in the hearts of many male students.

Thinking about He Meng's attire and that charming face from yesterday, Wang Yanguang felt some kind of emotion stirring inside him.

However, his response was three words completely contrary to his emotions.

"I’m not going.”

"What?" Wang Yonglei was a bit bewildered. "Is it true? She's a beauty! Every glance is precious, what are you thinking?"

"We're not even on the same wavelength. Why bother going?"

"Tsk tsk— Bro Wang, did you get upset at Liu Weilong's graduation celebration yesterday? I'm just saying, why are you so petty? It's not a big deal..."

"Not a big deal?!"

It's not you who felt wronged; it's easy to say when it's not you who are being teased, right?

Wang Yanguang originally didn't want to go to Liu Weilong's graduation celebration yesterday. Although they were classmates, they had their own circles in the class, with no significant interactions in the past.

Liu Weilong and He Meng were both from well-off families, while Wang Yanguang was just an ordinary farmer's child. With a personality that never stooped to flattery, he couldn't get along with them, so he chose to keep his distance.

However, since he was invited and Wang Yonglei kept pushing him, Wang Yanguang, with the idea of attending a classmate's event and gathering less often as a reason, ultimately chose to participate.

The result was far from good.

Wang Yanguang's red envelope was given according to the standards of an ordinary family, 200 Yuan, not much indeed. However, the other party's return gift also only required 200 Yuan, just a form of reciprocity.

A normal consideration was ridiculed by a few snobbish people, and he was forced to drink and vomit twice.

Even now, remembering those taunts, Wang Yanguang still felt particularly aggrieved.

"Da Long arranged for a five-star hotel. Without counting the cost of drinks and venue service fees, a table of dishes costs over two thousand Yuan. And you only give 200 as a gift? You're really interesting!"

"Are you here just for the food and drinks?"

"No matter, come, Da Long won’t care about your 200 Yuan. If the money isn't enough, there should be some sincerity in the congratulations, right? So let’s have a drink till morning!"

Youngsters these days were prideful. Not having much of a choice, and refusing to lose face in front of his peers, Wang Yan complied. However, he was no fool. As soon as he reached home, he vowed not to attend any graduation parties organized by this bunch ever again!

Why should he?

Boasting about making it into a good college, bragging about having a pretty girlfriend, now even insulting him when he had already done what he could regarding the cash gift?

Do they have nothing better to do?!

Especially when Liu Weilong hypocritically said, "Actually, your choice of major is very wise. Although Xing City Normal University is a second-tier institution, the ratio of girls is high. Any kind of guy can find a girlfriend; no need to worry about being single." Wang Yanguang really wanted to give him a slap.

The difference between us is just the amount of money that our parents have!

If I had even half of the money you got from your parents, I would end up far better than you!

After the unpleasant experience yesterday, Wang Yanguang would definitely not go to He Meng's graduation celebration, doing so would only make himself feel uncomfortable.

He doesn’t fear any of those rich guys, he is just scared that he can’t stop himself from beating them to death when they run their mouths again.

As for He Meng, consider it as a high school dream...

Thinking that the three years of unrequited love were finally coming to an end, Wang Yanguang felt a bit melancholic but understood that it was inevitable.

Too lazy to argue with Wang Yonglei, he directly cut off the persuasion: "Enough! I'll go if you treat me, but forget about He Meng and them. Can't reach that high. Goodbye!"

After hanging up the phone, Wang Yanguang threw his phone aside, shook his head with a cold smile.

Really, no point in bothering.

What are you going for?

To be toyed with by those guys with inflated superiority, like a clown, just to chat with He Meng, then go home and daydream with the fragrance on her?

Gujiao is a mining city filled with upstarts, with high-rise commercial centers and scar-like urban villages intertwined. Our families are a microcosm of thousands of urban farmers, living in low shantytowns where sunlight can't be seen during the day!

In such a money-driven society filled with restlessness, the gap between you and He Meng, the imbalance in the relationship, can't be filled!

When you are poor, even the way you breathe is wrong.

You don't understand, but I do.

There seemed to be a flame in Wang Yanguang's chest, his mood angry and chaotic.

At this moment, a clear prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for being selected by the Life Rich System.]

[As the owner of the Rich System, your breath is money.]

[Current system level: Level 1]

[For each breath, you will receive a cash reward of 5 Yuan.]

[Upgrade experience: 0/10000]

[Note 1: Investing, giving, and spending 1 Yuan will earn 1 experience point. Behaviors such as lending, repayment, and transfer will not generate experience.]

[Note 2: System money can be withdrawn and transferred instantly, unlimited times, unlimited accounts, absolutely safe.]

[More features will be unlocked after the system upgrade.]

…. What

Wang Yanguang was stunned for a while, repeatedly confirming that it wasn't an illusion, and his face slowly turned red.

Fortunes change, and this year, it's coming to my house!

Excited for quite a while, Wang Yanguang gradually accepted the unexpected luck that came from the sky and shifted his focus back to the system itself.

Life System?

Breath is money?

Wang Yanguang's mind twitched, staring at the panel, and began to breathe rapidly.

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo!"

Sticking out his tongue, he breathed quickly like a dog. Sure enough, the money digits on the system panel began to skyrocket.

+5 +5 +5 +5...

An average of 1 cent per second.

When he tried hard to earn 10 Yuan (1.40 USD), Wang Yanguang eyes rolled up to the back of his head, his body slack on the wicker chair, and lay half-dead.

Damn, doing it like this is playing with my life. When I earn my first 10,000, I'll already drop dead!

After resting for a while, Wang Yanguang changed his mind. He started keeping track of how many breaths he took in a single minute under normal conditions.

Inhale, exhale.

He quietly kept track. As such, the shortness of breath went away, but the disparity in his breathing patterns made his face flush.

Wang Yanguang was speechless.

With money involved, even breathing becomes a high-level skill?

"Be more natural, relax, relax!"

Muttering to himself for encouragement, Wang Yanguang tried again.

Trying to empty his mind, not focusing on breathing, after a few minutes, he finally got an approximate number.

About 20 breaths per minute, meaning 1 Yuan earned every minute.

The number seemed not high, but when Wang Yanguang did a simple calculation, he was shocked.

He could make approximately 1440 Yuan (202 USD) per day!

Just by breathing!

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Wang Yanguang jumped up, spinning around the courtyard, continuously throwing punches into the air, unable to calm down for a long time.

Finally, he rushed to the kitchen, scooped up a basin of water, and poured it from head to toe, feeling refreshingly cool.

Ah, refreshing!

After a quick wipe of his body, Wang Yanguang lay back down, slowly recovering his ability to think, and began to ponder aimlessly.

The system can be upgraded, and its functionality should become more powerful.

10000/1440 = 6.94, which means he could accumulate enough upgrade experience in 7 days.

Not bad.

Moreover, the system's mechanism is clear — where the money comes from is not important; what matters is how it is spent.

If you don't spend it, you won't gain any experience.

Do they want me to become a big spender?

I love it!

On June 8th, Wang Yanguang just stepped out of the college entrance exam, ending a grueling three-year battle.

On June 10th, he received the biggest sum of money in his life, 5000 Yuan (702 USD). He spent 2200 on enrolling in a summer driving school, 2800 on treating his classmates, and now he has 1983 left.

A day ago, he was mocked for having only 200 Yuan in his red envelope and returned home drunk.

Ten minutes ago, the most expensive luxury item on his dream list was an Apple phone.

Now, a silent and cool system tells him: you can make money by breathing.

What kind of feeling is that?

Life is like a box of assorted chocolates. Until you taste them, you never know which one is milk-flavored and which one is shit-flavored.

Wang Yanguang is quite certain: from now on, in my life, it will always be milk-flavored!